Australian researchers serve up a super-racquet

Australian National University scientists have invented a new way of mass producing superstrong tennis racquets.

The secret ingredient is microscopic carbon tubing - carbon nanotubes. Nanotubes are 10 times stronger than carbon fibres, from which racquets are now made.

Nanotubes are already used to strengthen some racquets, but a racquet made entirely of carbon nanotubes would be much more powerful, according to the ANU's Dr Ying Chen.

"Carbon nanotubes are far stronger than steel, 10 times stronger than carbon fibre and would have a huge range of commercial applications if they could be produced for a reasonable cost," he said.

"Ask Lleyton Hewitt or Andre Agassi if they would like a racquet that is 10 times as strong but no heavier than their existing carbon fibre racquets and I would expect that they would probably say yes." ");document.write("

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Until now, however, such racquets have been difficult to mass produce.

A carbon nanotube tennis racquet would have cost about $3 million before the new production process was developed.

Now the ANU hopes to bring costs down through a process called ball milling.

This involves mechanical grinding of cheap graphite powder and heating of the pre-treated materials at controlled temperatures.

Compared with other methods of making nanotubes, this process is cheap and can be used to produce large quantities.

"As production scales increase, the costs will come down - just as costs have come down for carbon fibre products," Dr Chen said.

The director of the ANU research school of physical sciences and engineering, Professor Jim Williams, said there was great potential in the carbon nanotube technology.

"Basic research being conducted at ANU is an essential platform for a host of new products, with major implications for the future of Australia and the Australian economy," he said.